Chapter 393: Heaven is dead!
A restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, is different from the bustling and modern business atmosphere of Ginza. This restaurant is an extremely traditional Japanese restaurant. Not only in the decoration, but also in the etiquette of the waiters and the food all show a traditional atmosphere.
In the private room, Jiasu Airlines President Kikawa Isshin and Japan Airlines President Nagano Hideki sat opposite each other. In the corner, there was a wisp of smoke floating in the air, filling the room with a strange fragrance.
Nagano Hideki narrowed his eyes and took a sip of the wine in the glass: "Mr. Jichuan, this is the first time you asked me out."
Although Japan Airlines wants to acquire Goodspeed Airlines, in terms of the performance of both parties, Japan Airlines is the more eager party. The main reason is that Ji Chuan Yixin knows that Japan Airlines is unlikely to be relied on, but if it does not merge with Japan Airlines, Goodspeed Airlines cannot rely on its own capabilities to reform, so it is in a state of wanting to merge but not wanting to merge. Naturally, Ji Chuan Yixin seems to be very lazy in terms of initiative.
"I saw Mr. Nagano at the Ministry of Transport meeting this morning." Ji Chuan said with a smile and drank the wine in the glass.
Different from Nagano Hideki's drinking style and also different from his appearance, Jichuan Isshin is extremely generous when drinking.
Nagano Hideki did not deny it: "Mr. Xu Cang and I are old friends, so of course I have to go and take a look."
"Old friend?" Ji Chuan put down the empty cup with a dull sound when the bottom of the cup hit the table. "So what do you think of Mr. Xu Cang?"
Nagano Hideki was stunned. He didn't expect Ji Chuan Yixin to suddenly mention Xu Cang: "You have stumped me."
"Haha, Mr. Nagano, don't think too much about it. This is a simple question. I'm just curious. There's nothing else to it."
"Nothing else? It's strange that you asked this question, isn't it?" Nagano Hideki said with a smile: "But it doesn't matter. Mr. Xu Cang has already swum the sea like a dragon, and he will definitely be a dragon among men in the future."
Ji Chuan Yixin smiled and said, "It's good that you think so. Then, let's talk about the merger now. We Jiasu agree to the merger."
Nagano Hideki's eyes lit up, but he soon turned to confusion: "We have been talking for so long, and there has been no major progress. Why did you suddenly agree to the merger?"
Recently, Nagano Hideki had not heard of any crisis that Jiasu Airlines had encountered. Logically, there should still be some possibility of selling it at a higher price, so why did they agree to the merger without any warning? This caught Nagano Hideki off guard.
"Then the conditions are clearly defined." Ji Chuan said with a smile, "We can discuss the purchase price slowly, but there is one hard condition that must be met."
Nagano Hideki's heart tightened, it was indeed so. However, this made him feel relieved. It was good to be able to put forward conditions. He was afraid that if he didn't put forward conditions, it would drag on. Moreover, it seemed that this was a key condition. It seemed that as long as this condition could be met, the merger would be a piece of cake.
"Tell me about it." Nagano Hideki pushed the wine glass in front of him slightly to the side, and seemed to be getting into the mood.
Kikawa Isshin followed Nagano Hideki's lead and pushed his glass aside, holding up two fingers: "Two seats on the board of directors."
"Two board seats!?" Nagano Hideki was stunned. "Are you crazy? You know there are only eight of us on the board. How much management power will be taken away by adding two board seats?"
Although Japan Airlines is extremely large, the size of its board of directors is not large compared with similar companies. This makes seats on the Japan Airlines board of directors extremely valuable. Ji Chuan Yixin asked for two board seats right away, which was simply insane.
If they agree, then the representatives of Jiasu Airlines will occupy two seats in the ten-member board of directors. The shares of Japan Airlines are extremely dispersed, and the chairman is also a major shareholder, but his shares do not exceed half, which means that the chairman does not actually have absolute authority. This means that even the chairman needs to make friends with the directors, which makes the seats on the board of directors even more precious.
This seat is not a mascot, but it can actually influence Japan Airlines' decision-making.
"I know." Ji Chuan said calmly, "But I said this is the most critical condition. If this condition is not met, then Jiasu Airlines will not be merged into Japan Airlines."
Nagano Hideki's face turned green, and he snorted coldly, "Do you think you have a choice? You have lost the ability to innovate and can only rely on stronger ones. Apart from us, Japan Airlines, there is ANA. However, ANA is the leader in the domestic market, and they have no intention of deepening their presence in local airport routes, so it is absolutely impossible for them to acquire you. Your only choice is us, and the conditions should not be too high. If this deal fails, you, Jiasu Airlines, can only slowly stink and rot, and then wait to die."
Nagano Hideki has seen the situation clearly. Although he has a firm grip on Goodspeed Airlines, Goodspeed Airlines actually has few options in terms of future fundamental interests. Therefore, despite Goodspeed Airlines' hesitation, JAL is not in a hurry because they know that Goodspeed Airlines will eventually agree.
But I didn't expect that Jiasu Airlines was so bold as to propose adding two seats on the board of directors. They really didn't know how to measure their own weight. Nagano Hideki felt that he needed to make things clear.
However, it was obvious that Jichuan was well prepared. He did not have any special reaction to Nagano Hideki's analysis of Jiasu Airlines. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "ANA has persuaded American Airlines to open a Japan-US route, right?"
At first, Nagano Hideki was relatively calm, but when the Japan-US route was mentioned, he couldn't hold it back anymore and his face suddenly darkened.
More than 70% of JAL's profits come from international routes, and 60% of international route profits come from Japan-US routes. Of course, JAL does not only cooperate with American Airlines, it also has a Japan-US route with United Airlines, and in addition, it has its own Japan-US route.
This time, American Airlines ended its cooperation and switched to All Nippon Airways. In addition to causing Japan Airlines' profits on Japan-US routes to drop by one third, it was also an extremely bad omen.
In the past, Japan Airlines always felt that its dominant position in international routes was as solid as a rock, but the current situation shows that the facts do not seem to be what Japan Airlines thinks.
With this opening, is it possible that United Airlines will be won over in the future?
Will JCAB fight to leave?
Thinking of JCAB, it is hard for Hideki Nagano not to think that the latest batch of official European routes will be selected by ANA first, which has always been the case with Japan Airlines.
To be honest, it is hard to say whether JCAB is still on the side of Japan Airlines.
Now that his wounds had been exposed, Nagano Hideki felt a little angry and ashamed: "Why did you bring this up? What does the international route have to do with your Jiasu?"
"It doesn't matter, but shouldn't you feel anxious? The international routes that were originally in a dominant position have begun to loosen . The reason why JAL is still ahead of ANA now, in addition to the huge policy inertia, the rest is the advantage in international routes. What if the advantage in international routes is no longer an advantage?" Ji Chuan sneered, "You said that we, Jiasu, are unable to reform ourselves, and so are you, JAL? President Nagano, in your position, you should be very clear about the corruption within JAL. You have funds and resources, but you lack the determination to cut out the rot. Once ANA offsets your dominant position in international routes, JAL's essence of being golden on the outside and rotten on the inside will be ruthlessly torn apart, isn't it?"
Nagano Hideki's face completely sank: "Mr. Jichuan, I am tired of you talking too much today. You can go back now."
Unexpectedly, Nagano Hideki, who was somewhat defeated, directly ordered them to leave.
However, Ji Chuan Yixin did not move at all, but instead tapped his fingernails on the ceramic wine glass, making a series of crisp sounds.
"President Nagano, there's no point in running away. You should know that."
"If you know that you can't do anything, then although running away is shameful, it is by no means useless. At least I want to keep Japan Airlines going until I retire," said Nagano Hideki coldly.
Hideki Nagano knew Japan Airlines to the core. Deep down, he felt that Japan Airlines was beyond salvation and its collapse was only a matter of time.
What he needs to do is not how to reform Japan Airlines, but he just hopes that Japan Airlines will not explode during his term of office.
When his term of office is over, who cares if there’s a flood afterwards?
Ji Chuan Yixin suddenly said, "Since ANA can touch your international routes, why don't you touch ANA's domestic routes?"
Nagano Hideki was stunned for a moment, and from the look on his face he looked like he was about to curse.
Japan Airlines has never thought about stealing ANA's domestic routes? That's crazy!
However, Japan Airlines' performance in the domestic route market is extremely poor, so it wants to acquire Air Canada to maintain its share of domestic routes. Otherwise, if it waits another two years, Japan Airlines will really become lame.
Unlike Japan Airlines, whose base is on international routes, ANA's base is domestic, at least at this stage. Japan Airlines would be willing to destroy ANA's domestic route base if it could.
However, this cannot be done with just your mouth.
In Nagano Hideki's opinion, Kikawa Isshin was not giving advice, but simply making sarcastic remarks.
Looking at Nagano Hideki's expression, Ji Chuan knew what Nagano Hideki was thinking, but he was not annoyed. His face became serious: "Now if we only look at the market share of domestic routes, ANA is first, our Jiasu is second, and JAL is third."
That’s right, the rankings have changed again.
Previously, Japan Airlines was second and Air China was third.
Originally, Goodspeed Airlines was already in a state of decline, but it could not withstand the even faster deterioration of Japan Airlines. Its domestic market shrank rapidly, and it was beaten to death by All Nippon Airways. As a result, the top management of Japan Airlines began to consider giving up the domestic market completely.
When it comes to the domestic market ranking, Nagano Hideki's face, which was already not looking good to begin with, turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He felt that Ji Chuan Yixin did it on purpose.
However, Kikawa Isshin's next words lifted Nagano Hideki's spirits: "Now you think it's ridiculous that we have two board seats as a condition for merging into Japan Airlines, but if we can surpass ANA and become the leader of domestic routes, do you think the condition of those two board seats can still be negotiated?"
…
Shortly after Southwest Flight 3102 took off, the sky was full of stars, but the lights in the cabin had been dimmed.
Under the dim light and the unusually smooth airflow after takeoff, Xu Cang was already in low spirits due to the hearing in the morning, so he felt sleepy as soon as the plane took off and fell into a light sleep.
The plane cabin was empty. Except for some people in the first-class cabin at the front, there was no one in the back and it was deathly silent.
If it weren't for the little light leaking through the gap in the curtain of the workroom in the rear cabin of the plane, the plane would have been so quiet that it was even a little eerie.
Xu Cang went to bed early, and Richard went to bed a little later than Xu Cang. The first-class seats were like independent small sofas, with a large backrest and a footrest, making them quite comfortable to lie down on. However, after takeoff, Xia Shuyue's ears moved slightly. She kept hearing some strange sounds, which seemed to come from the abnormal noise of the engine running outside, but the inharmonious sound was very slight, so slight that even Xia Shuyue was not sure, and strongly suspected that she had heard it wrong.
Xia Shuyue's hearing is even sharper than Xu Cang's, which was demonstrated during the special landing in Tianshan a long time ago.
Originally, Xia Shuyue was planning to talk to Xu Cang about it, but after she heard the slight snoring coming from the direction of Xu Cang's seat, she gave up the idea.
The sound was indeed very light. In many cases, it was just a minor abnormal noise caused by the aging of the engine, which did not affect safety. If there was really an obvious problem, the abnormal noise of the engine should be louder. I guess I was really a little suspicious. Moreover, the instruments in the cockpit in front were more accurate. If there was no reaction there, then there was basically no problem.
Suddenly, Xia Shuyue's eyes focused and looked towards the front cabin.
At this moment, a curtain separates the front cabin crew workroom from the first-class cabin area, but the curtain cannot be completely tight, and there are still very tiny gaps on both sides.
It was obvious that the lights in the front cabin workshop were not dimmed, and some light leaked through the gaps.
Xia Shuyue had excellent eyesight. Through the gap, she seemed to see the chief flight attendant standing in front of the cockpit door, followed by a very slight knock on the door.
Xia Shuyue couldn't tell whether the unusual noise from the engine was normal or not, but even though the flight attendant tried his best to control the force of knocking on the door, the sound was still too obvious for Xia Shuyue.
"Knock on the door while climbing?" Xia Shuyue was a little surprised.
Now that Xia Shuyue has learned how to fly, she at least knows that the initial climb phase of the plane is the critical stage. Unless it is an emergency, why would the flight attendant knock on the door and let in at this time?
However, if it was an emergency, the knock on the door should not be so slight, but obvious and rapid.
Of course, Xia Shuyue was just curious and didn't have any special reaction.
Xia Shuyue's physiological perception ability even surpassed Xu Cang's in some aspects, but she still had too little experience and her ability to associate certain information was not strong. She just felt a little strange and didn't think much about it. Perhaps because the surroundings were too quiet, Xia Shuyue was also tired, her eyelids were heavy, and she slowly fell asleep.
In the front cabin workroom, after the chief flight attendant knocked on the door, the cockpit door opened unexpectedly.
To be honest, this is very inconsistent with the cockpit entry procedure. Some captains with bad tempers saw the chief flight attendant knocking on the door to enter at a critical stage, not only did they not open the door, but they might even open the internal phone and scold the chief flight attendant.
But on this flight, the cockpit door really opened like this, it was very simple.
As the cabin door opened, the chief flight attendant saw two people in the cockpit.
Logically speaking, the aircraft was operating extremely smoothly and had passed the takeoff phase, so the pressure in the cockpit should have dropped sharply. However, the captain and co-pilot looked obviously nervous, and the co-pilot even had cold sweat on his forehead.
The chief flight attendant didn't seem surprised by the two men's reactions, so he entered the cockpit and closed the hatch.
"Is everything alright in the cabin?" The captain looked back at the chief flight attendant.
The flight attendant's expression was not very natural: "Nothing."
"Are they all up here?"
"Yes, everyone is aboard." The flight attendant swallowed and said, "Captain, when do we start?"
The captain was a middle-aged white man with a scruffy beard and a somewhat unkempt appearance. He stroked his chin and glanced at the clock on the instrument panel: "What's the situation with that guy now?"
"It seems he fell asleep." The flight attendant replied, "I didn't look carefully, but the reading lights in the first-class cabin were not turned on, so he must have fallen asleep."
"Then wait another fifteen minutes until he falls asleep." The captain licked his dry lips and said, "Also, tell the cabin crew to wait until I release the pressure before taking any action, otherwise the cabin door won't open."
The flight attendant nodded heavily: "Yes, I know this."
"Also..." the captain continued, "Don't use the intercom to notify us. If possible, go to the rear cabin and convey it verbally."
The flight attendant thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I understand."
"Okay, go ahead!" the captain said, "Close the door quietly."
The chief flight attendant hummed and tiptoed out of the cockpit.
After the chief purser left, the co-pilot turned on the surveillance camera in the front cabin workroom, which showed the chief purser leaving.
"Captain, is this okay?" The co-pilot's face was full of worry.
The captain snorted, "What's the matter? I don't need you to do anything."
The co-pilot smacked his lips. “I see. But, I found a problem in the pre-flight clearance information just now. I was a little distracted in the previous paragraph, and I didn’t read the information carefully… so I missed it.”
The captain frowned: "What's wrong?"
"The No. 1 engine of our aircraft often reported high vibration values before, but they were all within the standard. The company checked and found no problems, but asked us to pay attention to monitoring."
"The vibration value of engine No. 1 is too high?" The captain was stunned and immediately opened the detailed information of the engine data, which included the engine vibration value information.
Engine vibration value information is secondary important information in the data. Normally, if it is not exceeded, it will be hidden. This time, the captain took the initiative to open it. When he saw the vibration value of the No. 1 engine, his face suddenly sank.
The vibration value of engine number one has reached three!
Of course, this is still within the standard range, but it is very close to the critical value.
"Damn it! Didn't the company say it had already been checked? Why is it still like this?" The captain cursed, but soon he calmed down: "It doesn't matter. It's all the same anyway."
…
After more than ten minutes, the cabin, which was originally silent, was even quieter, except for a few light snoring sounds. Not long ago, Xia Shuyue also fell asleep. This environment was indeed very suitable for sleeping. In addition, it was the standard sleep time of the biological clock, so it was normal for her to fall asleep.
But in this dead silence, the burly man sitting in the seat behind Xu Cang's left suddenly opened his slightly closed eyes, and a wild light like a wolf flashed in the darkness.
He waited for a while, adjusted his breathing, and listened quietly for a while to confirm that there was no other sound around except the sound of the engine running, which meant that everyone else should be asleep.
However, he remained careful, like a lone wolf hunting, and slowly stood up, trying his best to keep the noise as low as possible.
His steps were steady, not fast, and seemingly casual. At this time, even if other people woke up, they would only think that he was going to the bathroom in the front cabin.
After walking a few steps, he was already close to Xu Cang's seat. He was so close that he could even hear his even breathing, which was obviously the breathing of someone falling asleep.
For some reason, the white man sighed softly, as if it contained deep regret.
He slowly opened his coat, reached his right hand into his waist, pulled out a pistol, took a step forward, turned sideways, and what came into his sight was Xu Cang sleeping with his head tilted to the side.
He slowly raised his pistol, pointed the black muzzle at Xu Cang's head, and sighed softly: "Goodbye, Mr. Xu Cang."
At this moment, Xu Cang, who was originally asleep, seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes.
The white man raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "I want to say hello to you, Mr. Xu Cang, on behalf of Mr. Harry Wei."
Immediately, without saying anything else, he pulled the trigger.
…
In the cockpit, the captain and the co-pilot kept a close eye on the vibration value of Engine No. 1. Fortunately, even though the vibration value of Engine No. 1 was a bit high, it was always maintained below the critical line and was barely acceptable.
"The engine is aging?" asked the co-pilot puzzled.
There is no ice now, and other parameters are operating normally, except that the engine vibration value is a bit high, which is more in line with the performance of engine aging.
I’m old and my body isn’t as strong anymore.
"No matter what, as long as it doesn't exceed the limit." The captain didn't seem to pay much attention to the condition of the engine, at least he didn't show it too dramatically.
After hearing the captain's words, the co-pilot calmed down a little, nodded, and the cockpit immediately fell silent again.
At this moment, the Japanese control voice in English with a strong accent came from the control frequency: "Flight WN3102, radar vectoring, now turn left to 090."
The co-pilot responded reflexively: "WN3102, turn left..."
However, before the co-pilot could finish his words, the captain interrupted: "WN3102, heading 090 is affected by weather, requesting to maintain the planned route."
"Weather?" The co-pilot glanced at the radar and saw that there was clearly no weather at all.
Not to mention the 090 heading, there was no green at all within a radius of more than fifty degrees to the left and right.
The controller could also see the weather, and was clearly confused by the captain's request: "WN3102, I can't see the weather."
"WN3102 requests to maintain the planned route." The captain repeated coldly.
"WN3102, turn left immediately to 090." The Japanese controller's tone became heavier: "There is an ionizing radiation zone ahead."
"What the hell is this ionizing radiation zone!" The captain turned off the VHF receiver and confirmed with the co-pilot again: "Remember, no matter what, we must follow the planned route."
The co-pilot nodded as if he understood, and he probably understood what the captain meant.
Because they will never complete the flight.
However, he was concerned about the ionizing radiation zone mentioned by the controller. He had never heard of such an "ionizing radiation zone" in his flying career, but logically speaking, the controller should not joke about it.
This worry grew rapidly as time went by, so much so that after hesitating for a long time, he suddenly said, "Captain, should we talk to the control again..."
Before he could finish his words, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out in the deathly silent cabin.
